Re: Willie Manu : Mon Jun 04, 2012 4:48 pm  

The Chair Maker wrote:

When i first read about the possibility of Manu signing i was somewhat put out due to his age, and i must admit its still nags away at the back of my mind that we may be getting a player who is over the hill so to speak.

However i also remember the signing of another 32 year old forward Kevin Ward. Who had a real indian summer with Saints.

Looking at Manu's stats this year they are better than any other Saints forward.

Soliola for example is our top tackle buster in the pack with 25, Manu has made 60, which is way better than our best players stats.
Manu has also made 9 clean breaks which is more than any other Saints player bar James Roby who has 10.

Interestingly the top clean break merchant at Hull is Jordan Turner with 12. A player Saints are also rumoured to be after.

Manu is also hard working in defence being one of the top 4 tacklers at Hull, while being a clean player when it comes to giving away penalties. 15 other players at hull have been worse for giving away penalties.

He also loves to offload with 30 so far this season. Thats 10 more than Roby at Saints and more than double the next best player at Saints. He is in the top 10 in SL for offloading.

If Manu does sign for Saints then even if he starts to drop off a bit in performance. He will still be better than any of the forwards we currently have.

When I did a head to head stat on the super league website (when it had the head to head) in manu and sia, manu blew him out the water in everything. Meters, breaks, tackles, off loads etc

The only sticking point for me is the length of the deal.

Re: Willie Manu : Mon Jun 04, 2012 5:01 pm  

^ Is it two years? Any more than that would be madness.

Re: Willie Manu : Mon Jun 04, 2012 5:05 pm  

SFW wrote:

^ Is it two years? Any more than that would be madness.

I'm guessing it's 3yrs. Hull offered him 3yr deal which he's turned down.

Re: Willie Manu : Mon Jun 04, 2012 5:22 pm  

THREE YEARS!

Have people completely taken leave of their senses? How many 36 yo players regularly do the business in SL?

Re: Willie Manu : Mon Jun 04, 2012 5:26 pm  

Three years if true is absolutely crazy, and were I Nathan Brown I'd be trying to put a stop to it aswell.

Re: Willie Manu : Mon Jun 04, 2012 5:36 pm  

Mugwump wrote:

You're not seriously suggesting the intensity of the two games are sufficiently close to think Manu stands an equal chance?

In my opinion it was more intense for a forward when Wardy was playing. ill explain why.
Wardy had to play for the full 80 minutes, not for him the luxury of getting a breather after 20 mins then only coming back for the final 20 of the game.
Also in those days RL was a lot more rugged with a lot of cheapshots going unpunished. Todays RL is played by angels, compared to the trained killers of Wardys era.
After the match players didnt have the luxury of sports science to help them recover, there were no cryogenic chambers to take away the bumps and bruises. The medical science of fixing injuries was also far less developed. Any serious injury and your career was over.
Wardy had to be in work the next day lifting paving stones, whereas todays full time pros just go into rehabilitation, where they get hydro therapy, and physiotherapy etc.
Wardy had to play sunday, wednesday, sunday in a season that could encompass over 50 games. Todays players moan about having to play 30 games.

The key to being able to continue playing after 30 is in the legs. Provided the legs retain the speed then you can keep on going. Steve Menzies being the freakish example of a player who at 38 is still better than most backrowers in SL.
Manu is the type of player who if he loses a yard of pace could move into the front row. So while i think 2 years would be optimal, 3 years isnt that risky.

Re: Willie Manu : Mon Jun 04, 2012 5:50 pm  

The Chair Maker wrote:

Manu is the type of player who if he loses a yard of pace could move into the front row. So while i think 2 years would be optimal, 3 years isnt that risky.

Not sure I agree with this. He plays the game at a high intensity and it wouldn't surprise me to see his level of performance drop off in the second year never mind the third if indeed there is one, not to mention the increased likelihood of injury as he gets older. He'll be 33 early into next year, it would be crazy to offer him three years on (assumedly) big money.

Re: Willie Manu : Mon Jun 04, 2012 5:55 pm  

SFW wrote:

Not sure I agree with this. He plays the game at a high intensity and it wouldn't surprise me to see his level of performance drop off in the second year never mind the third if indeed there is one, not to mention the increased likelihood of injury as he gets older. He'll be 33 early into next year, it would be crazy to offer him three years on (assumedly) big money.

I'd take him on two years as he's showing no signs of Lodi g it at moment and I'd also be happy to offer a 3rd year option in our favour.

Re: Willie Manu : Mon Jun 04, 2012 6:01 pm  

I'd take the risk with Manu personally, I think he is quality in a market that doesn't have great players in it and that isn't going to change anytime soon with the NRL salary cap increasing. We're competing for 2nd tier players and Manu is definitely at the higher end of the scale, despite his age.

Re: Willie Manu : Mon Jun 04, 2012 7:07 pm  

I just want us to sign a Prop whose legs are too fat to pull up his socks. They're always ace.